Misunderstood risks accompany new DC thinking

The primary focus of defined contribution retirement plans' sponsors and participants has typically been on accumulating wealth so that employees have enough savings when they retire. However, more recently, many are thinking of how to save in order to replace the income participants need to maintain their standard of living throughout retirement.

To that end, the Institutional Retirement Income Council, a nonprofit think tank in the industry, has identified six major areas of risk that those planning for retirement – either on their own or on behalf of another – need to take into account. The six groups are: